Pumpkin Doughnut Mini Muffins

Pumpkin is having a moment. You could argue it has a "moment" every year from October 1st to October 31st. But this year is different—pumpkin has moved beyond its post on the front porch, and into kitchens across America. It's become a mark of culinary coolness; as New York magazine puts it, "pumpkin is the new bacon." It's everywhere, it's impossibly chic, and it's freaking delicious.

Pumpkin—especially when combined with cinnamon, nutmeg, and other warm spices—is the epitome of autumnal eating. Since 2010, there has been a 38 percent increase in pumpkin-flavored foods on restaurant menus. And since 2007, the number of pumpkin drinks has leapt by 400 percent, according to Datassential MenuTrends. This year, Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte fans have faced serious withdrawal, as shortages of the wildly popular drink have swept the nation.

I don't need any more convincing. Pumpkin is incredible.

I NEED to get in on the action in my own kitchen. My recipe of choice: Pumpkin Doughnut Mini Muffins. The name alone is enough to make me salivate. I love doughnuts (who doesn't?) and I've long adored my mom's pumpkin bread. So why not combine the two? 

I opted for a mini-muffin pan so my little bites of autumn delight would resemble Dunkin' Donuts Munchkins. I also reserved some batter for a mini-pumpkin cake pan my mom gave me, but they just came out looking like little helmets. Soldier pumpkins!

My only mistake: making these on a Sunday afternoon, when I was free to shamelessly devour them. They have the delicious density of cake doughnuts, with just enough pumpkin flavor to make your taste buds scream, "Fall weather!" I seriously am obsessed.

Pumpkin Doughnut Mini Muffins
Courtesy of King Arthur Flour


What you need
½ cup canola oil
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups canned pumpkin
1 ½ tsp pumpkin spice*
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ¾ cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 

Coating
1 ½ Tbsp sugar
1 ½ Tbsp cinnamon

*I used ¾ tsp cinnamon, plus ½ tsp allspice. 

Put it all together

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin.
2. Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder. Then incorporate the flour until smooth. 
3. Fill the cups of the muffin tin about ¾ full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one muffin comes out clean. 
4. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. While the muffins are still warm (but not hot), shake them in a large Ziploc bag with the sugar and cinnamon, until well coated. 

4 Celebrity Homes for Sale

1. Reese Witherspoon's California Ranch

Price: $10 million

5,000 square feet

Libbey Ranch, located in Ojai, California, a village in the foothills of north Los Angeles, is Reese Witherspoon's vacation and weekend home. However, it's perhaps best known as Robert Pattinson's "breakup hideaway." Witherspoon and Pattinson became friends while filming Water For Elephants, and when Kristin Stewart cheated on Pattison, he took cover at Witherspoon's ranch, a 9-bedroom estate built in 1923.

Witherspoon told Elle Decor, "When you buy a beautiful piece of art, you don't really own it. You're just the caretaker." I don't blame her for passing on her caretaker duties to someone else: The yearly property taxes alone run $125,000!

The property features Spanish-style architecture, with intricate details like century-old hardware, original stonework, plank floors, and Spanish tiles. The home was originally built for Edward Libbey, a glassware magnate.

 The country kitchen opens into a spacious dining room, featuring a large stone fireplace.

 The Nashville native held her March 2011 wedding to Jim Toth on the ranch grounds.

The grounds include a barn and horse paddock, where she keeps a horse, pony, donkey, pigs, goats, chickens, and dogs. "It reminds me of growing up in Tennessee, where we spent all day outside," Witherspoon told Elle Decor. I wanted my children to get that experience, to get muddy and hang out with the animals." Guess that fantasy didn't pan out!

2. Kelsey & Camille Grammer's Malibu Mansion 

Price: $17.5 million

6,645 square feet

Since Kelsey and Camille split in 2010 (you may have seen their breakup on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), they've sold two of their properties—one in Colorado, the other in Beverly Hills. Now, they've put a third on the market: a Malibu mansion that comes with 4.75 acres of property, a private pool and tennis court, a barn, and a separate guesthouse. 

Dining Room

Outdoor Dining Room

Living Room

Kitchen

Home Theater

Outdoor Lounge Area

Lily Pond

3. A-Rod's Modern Miami Home

Price: $38 million

23,000 square feet

Yankees star Alex Rodriguez built this waterfront Miami estate in 2011 for $24 million. He listed it in August for an additional $14 million. It's rumored that he built the home to share with his former flame Cameron Diaz, but they broke up before it was finished.

The mansion has 9 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.

The home features a 3,ooo-square-foot sporting facility, which includes a batting cage, billiards room, home theater, and an infinity pool.

4. Jim Carrey's Beachfront Mansion

Price: $13.95 million

5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths

Jim Carrey bought this home in 2002 for nearly $10 million. His real estate agent describes the beachfront Malibu property as "sun-drenched and spacious."

The living room leads to a large deck that has removable privacy walls.

The master suite boasts a fireplace, an ocean view, and a balcony.

The rooftop viewing deck features a spa tub and "mood lights."

Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

It's taken me many years to admit that I love apple pie. It's not that I have a personal vendetta against it. It's just that I always rejected apple pie in favor of sweeter options, like my grandma's peanut butter pie. 

Until I discovered this shameless trick: When no one is looking, I scrape out the crust, and leave all of the apple goop behind. The crust absorbs the apple flavor, but I don't have to, you know, eat the apples.  

Then I found something even better: apple crumb. Instead of the traditional latticework of pie, apple crumb has a brown sugar/butter topping that is crispy, amazing...and also kind of difficult to separate from the apple filling. Which means I'm forced to eat an entire slice of pie, fruit and all. 

I tried it, and liked it. 

Well, actually, I loved it. 

So when my boss's birthday rolled around, I decided to make him apple pie cupcakes, but with crumb on top and cinnamon rolls as the cake. 

Two years ago, I attempted to make him an actual apple pie, but I dumped the whole thing in the oven. Needless to say, I don't consider pie-making one of my favorite hobbies.

But my boss loves apple pie.

This is my (delicious) compromise.

The recipe called for a caramel drizzle on top. But I decided to use the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls instead.

The effect was pretty outstanding. In the words of my office's resident foodie, "This is your best creation yet. I love apple pie, but man, this is above and beyond." I call that success.

Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

From Inspired Taste

What you need

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced into ¼" cubes

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup flour

¼ + 2 Tbsp brown sugar, packed

¼ cup chopped walnuts

1 can (12.4 oz) refrigerated cinnamon rolls

Put it all together

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat 8 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter over high heat. Add the apples, and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. Make sure to stir them occasionally so they don't burn. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cook for 5 more minutes, then add lemon juice.
3. Combine butter, flour, ¼ cup brown sugar, and walnuts with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
4. Separate the cinnamon rolls, and flatten each one into a 4" round. Press them into the muffin cup, essentially creating cinnamon roll bowls. Divide apple filling evenly among the 8 cups, then sprinkle the brown sugar/walnut mixture over each. (Hint: Press into small clumps, rather than leaving it loose.) 
5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until bubbly and slightly browned. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before removing from cups onto a cooling rack. Serve while hot, drizzling cinnamon roll icing over each.

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2012 Whoopie Pie Festival (and the World's Largest Whoopie Pie!)

I'd never even heard of a whoopie pie until I moved to Pennsylvania. When I first tried one, I was impressed, but only in the way that Little Debbie Raisin Creme Pies impress me. Apparently, though, the whoopie pie is a big source of pride—and conflict—in the Northeast. 

The history of the whoopie pie, also known as the BFO (for "Big Fat Oreo"), is hotly debated. Maine recently named the whoopie pie its official dessert, and Pennsylvanians freaked. They claim the sweet treat can be traced back to some of Pennsylania's earliest residents. Amish women supposedly packed the pies in their children's lunches, and upon discovering the pies in their pails, they would joyfully shout, "Whoopie!" 

Residents of Maine, however, say that a woman working in local bakery baked spoonfuls of extra cake batter, then glued them together with frosting. This, they posit, was the first whoopie pie. 

I'll side with Pennsylvania, only because it means we get to host the annual Whoopie Pie Festival. The event, held in Pennsylvania's Amish Country, boasts more than 100 types of whoopie pies. Now that's something to brag about.

Confetti whoopie pies!

My pick? Orange cake with marshmallow fluff filling.  

It was quite delicious, although I made myself sick after eating the entire thing. (In my defense, I ate half of it, shopped at the Pottery Barn Outlet, then ate the other half. I thought that was sufficient time for my stomach to regroup.) 

A whole army of orange whoopie pies!

I was a little disappointed that were no samples available. I was left with only the saliva-inducing descriptions. Some of the more tempting options...

Want to make your own whoopie pies? Check out my post about Elvis Whoopie Pies. (My worlds collide! A Pennsylvania dessert with Tennessee-inspired flavors!)

Birthday Cake Batter Cookies

I've never baked a cookie that I liked more than the dough itself. Until now. I've also never regretted making a cookie as much as I regret making these. I seriously can't stay out of them. 

I'm obsessed with three things:

Cookie dough.

Cake batter.

Sprinkles.

These cookies capture the magic of all three in one seriously sweet treat. This might possibly be the best cookie I have ever made. 

The inspiration started with my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I first discovered it in high school, when I was trying to impress my boyfriend with my baking skills. I'm fairly certain those cookies were why he fell in love with me. I eventually dumped him, but I stuck by that recipe for the long haul. It's a no-fail crowd pleaser—the soft, dense type of cookie most people assume could only come from a bakery. 

The irony? The secret ingredient is a basic supermarket staple: instant pudding mix. 

I wanted to create a cookie with the same soft, cake-like texture. But I was afraid pudding mix would overpower the cake batter flavor I sought. So I broke out the milk powder, the secret weapon of Momofuku Milk Bar, one of my favorite NYC bakeries. I combined it with sugar, cornstarch, and a little salt to create my own milk-flavored pudding mix. The powdery mixture contributes creaminess more than it does flavor.

The effect was exactly as I intended. The batter was, as you'd expect, delicious, but the cookies were otherworldly. If I sound like I'm bragging, it's because I am. These cookies were GOOD.

Fresh out of the oven!

Birthday Cake Batter Cookies

What you need
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups yellow cake mix
3 sticks butter, softened
1 ¼ cups brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup white sugar
2 ½ Tbsp milk powder
3 ½ Tbsp white sugar
2 ½ Tbsp cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 ½ Tsp vanilla extract
2 cups white baking chips
½ cup sprinkles

Put it all together

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup sugar until well combined. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine the milk powder, 3 ½ Tbsp white sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Slowly beat the mixture in with the butter and sugar.
4. Stir in the eggs and vanilla, then gently fold in the white baking chips and sprinkles.
5. Roll dough into 1" balls, and place on an ungreased baking sheet, about 1 to 2 inches apart. Bake for 13-15 minutes. 

Or, if you really want to get experimental, grill the cookie dough! 

I flattened a ball of dough into a pancake shape, and grilled it on a 350°F griddle. The outside was crispy, the inside gooey. I have no idea if this is safe, since the inside wasn't fully cooked, but I do know it was delicious!

Grilled cookie!

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Birthday Cake Oreo Bark

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